Background

Anterior neck surgery puts parathyroid glands at a risk. Hypoparathyroidism, in particular transient hypoparathyroidism, is a complication of anterior neck surgery (e.g. thyroid surgery) ascribed to a secretory deficiency of the parathyroid glands. Thyroid surgery is the type of surgery that is most commonly associated with postoperative hypocalcaemia. Although most of the patients recover in a few, the disorder persists. According to estimates from the United States and Korea thyroidectomies are performed at a rate of about 10-60 per 100.000 people per year which means that between 2 and 15 cases of hypoparathyroidism associated with thyroid surgery per 100.000 people are expected per year. This shows that hypoparathyroidism is a common adverse effect of anterior neck surgeries such as